List of style guides


A style guide, or style manual, is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents. A set of standards for a specific organization is often known as an "in-house style". Style guides are common for general and specialized use, for the general reading and writing audience, and for students and scholars of medicine, journalism, law, and various academic disciplines.

International

Several basic style guides for technical and scientific communication have been defined by international standards organizations. These are often used as elements of and refined in more specialized style guides that are specific to a subject, region, or organization. Some examples are:
  • EN 15038, Annex D – European Standard for Translation Services
  • ISO 8 – Presentation of periodicals
  • ISO 18 – Contents lists of periodicals
  • ISO 31 – Quantities and units
  • ISO 214 – Abstracts for publication and documentation
  • ISO 215 – Presentation of contributions to periodicals and other serials
  • ISO 690 – Bibliographic references – Content, form & structure
  • ISO 832 – Bibliographic references – Abbreviations of typical words
  • ISO 999 – Index of a publication
  • ISO 1086 – Title leaves of a book
  • ISO 2145 – Numbering of divisions and subdivisions in written documents
  • ISO 5966 – Presentation of scientific and technical reports
  • ISO 6357 – Spine titles on books and other publications
  • ISO 7144 – Presentation of theses and similar documents
  • ISO 9241 – Ergonomics of Human System Interaction
  • ISO 17100 – Translation Services-Requirements for Translation Services
Other style guides that cover international usage:The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, by Cambridge University PressThe Global English Style Guide, by SAS Institute

Australia

General

Law

Science

Australian manual of scientific style by Biotext; illustrated by Biotext. 1st ed.

Canada

European Union

Council of Europe - English Style Guide, by the Council of EuropeEnglish Style Guide Interinstitutional Style Guide.

New Zealand

For general writing

  • , by Flickerwell.

For electronic publishing

  • , by Digital.govt.nz.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, many major periodicals, academic institutions, and large companies have their own style guides; otherwise, they normally rely on New Hart's Rules, available in the New Oxford Style Manual.

For general writing

Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford, more commonly known as Hart's Rules. First edition circulated privately. Fifteenth edition : 1904. Thirty-ninth edition: 1983. Later editions published under new format under the title New Hart's Rules; see entry below for New Oxford Style Manual.The King's English, by H. W. Fowler and Francis George Fowler. Third edition: 1931.Author & Printer: A Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists; With full list of Abbreviations; An Attempt to codify the best Typographical Practices of the Present Day, by F. Howard Collins. Reprinted under its more familiar title, Authors' and Printers' Dictionary, in 1909.A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, by H. W. Fowler. Second edition, edited by Sir Ernest Gowers: Fowler's Modern English Usage. Third edition, edited by Robert Burchfield: New Fowler's Modern English Usage. Fourth edition: Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, edited by Jeremy Butterfield. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The Complete Plain Words, by Sir Ernest Gowers. An amalgamation of the author's Plain Words: A Guide to the Use of English and his ABC of Plain Words. The first edition of 1954 was published to popular acclaim; a second edition, revised by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973 and was also warmly received for its wit and charm. The latest edition, edited by Gowers' great-granddaughter Rebecca Gowers, was published in 2014.Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook, by Judith Butcher. Fourth edition: Copy-editing: ''The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. New Oxford Style Manual Oxford: Oxford University Press. Combining New Hart's Rules and The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, it is an authoritative handbook on how to prepare copy. Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English'', by Eric Partridge.

For legal documents

Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, by the University of Oxford Faculty of LawThe Lawyer's Style Guide by Bloomsbury Publishing

For academic papers

MHRA Style Guide for the arts and humanities; published by the Modern Humanities Research AssociationThe British Psychological Society Style Guide, published by The British Psychological Society

For journalism

The BBC News Style Guide: by the British Broadcasting CorporationThe Daily Telegraph Style Guide, by The Daily TelegraphThe Economist Style Guide by The Economist.The Financial Times Style Guide, by the Financial TimesThe Guardian Style Guide, by The GuardianThe Times Style and Usage Guide, by ''The Times''

For electronic publishing

GOV.UK Style Guide, by UK GovernmentUniversity of Cambridge Style Guide, by ''University of Cambridge''

For the computer industry (software and hardware)

Acorn Technical Publications Style Guide, by Acorn Computers. Provides editorial guidelines for text in RISC OS instructional publications, technical documentation, and reference information.RISC OS Style Guide by RISC OS Open Limited. Provides design guidelines, help and dialogue box phrasing examples for the software user interface.

United States

In the United States, most journalistic forms of mass communication rely on styles provided in the Associated Press Stylebook ''''. Corporate publications typically follow either the AP Stylebook or the equally respected Chicago Manual of Style, with in-house modifications or exceptions to the chosen style guide.
A classic grammar style guide is Strunk & White's Elements of Style.

For general writing

Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right, by Bill BrysonThe Careful Writer, by Theodore BernsteinThe Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers, by Karen Yin — provides "style guidance on compassionate, mindful, empowering, respectful, and inclusive language," particularly with regards to marginalized communities

For legal documents

ALWD Guide to Legal Citation, by the Association of Legal Writing DirectorsThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, by the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, and Penn Law Review in collaborationThe Indigo Book: An Open and Compatible Implementation of A Uniform System of Citation, by Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman and NYU law students — unofficial open-source adaptation of the BluebookNew York Law Reports Style Manual, by the Law Reporting Bureau of the State of New York

For scientific publications

The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication, by the American Chemical SocietyAMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, by the Journal of the American Medical Association AMS Style Guide – Journals, by the American Mathematical Society The American Sociological Association Style Guide, by the American Sociological AssociationThe CSE Manual: Scientific Style and Format for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, by the Council of Science Editors IEEE ''Reference Style Guide for Authors, by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,'' by the American Psychological Association — known as "APA style"

For other academic writing

Association of Art Editors Style Guide, by Lory Frankel and Virginia Wageman for the Association of Art EditorsThe Chicago Manual of Style, by the University of Chicago Press

For journalism

The Associated Press Stylebook, by the Associated Press — known as the AP Stylebook The BuzzFeed Style Guide, by Emmy Favilla and Megan PaoloneGLAAD Media Reference Guide, by GLAAD — provides guidance for writing about LGBTQ people in journalism and mediaThe New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, by Allan M. Siegal and William G. ConnollyThe Wall Street Journal Guide to Business Style and Usage, by Ronald J. Alsop and the staff of the ''Wall Street Journal''

For electronic publishing

The Columbia Guide to Online Style, by Janice Walker and Todd TaylorWeb Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah HortonThe Yahoo! Style Guide, by Chris Barr

For business

The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Effective Writing on the Job, by Helen Cunningham and Brenda GreeneThe Gregg Reference Manual, by William A. Sabin

For the computer industry

Apple Style Guide, published online by Apple Inc. — provides editorial guidelines for text in Apple instructional publications, technical documentation, reference information, training programs, and the software user interface
  • DigitalOcean Style Guide, published online by DigitalOcean
  • GNOME Developer Documentation Style Guidelines, published online by GNOMEGoogle Developer Documentation Style Guide, published online by Google — provides a set of editorial guidelines for anyone writing developer documentation for Google-related projects
  • The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors, by Francis DeRespinis, Peter Hayward, Jana Jenkins, Amy Laird, Leslie McDonald, and Eric Radzinski for IBM Press
  • Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors, by Michelle Carey, Moira McFadden Lanyi, Deirdre Longo, Eric Radzinski, Shannon Rouiller and Elizabeth Wilde for IBM Press
  • Mailchimp Content Style Guide, published online by Mailchimp
  • Microsoft Writing Style Guide, published online by the Microsoft Corporation
  • MongoDB Documentation Style Guide, published by MongoDB
  • Mozilla Writing Style Guide, published online by Mozilla
  • Read Me First!: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, by Sun Technical Publications
  • Red Hat Technical Writing Style Guide, published online by Red Hat
  • Salesforce Style Guide for Documentation and User Interface Text, published online by Salesforce
  • The Splunk Style Guide, published online by Splunk
  • SUSE Documentation Style Guide, published online by SUSE
  • Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, by Constance Hale and Jessie Scanlon for ''Wired''

Editorial style guides on preparing a manuscript for publication

The Chicago Manual of Style, by the University of Chicago PressWords into Type, by Marjorie E. Skillin and Robert M. Gay